Starting Your Career as an Interior Designer: The Business of Interior Design

Time of the Season

On CNN this morning there was a report on housing sales in

America.   It seems new house sales were up over 11% from the previous month.  What exciting and positive news.  The reader then, of course, had to follow up with how much sales are still lagging from twelve months ago.  Darn, can’t they leave well enough alone?  For every good news story, and there are a few out there, most news teams follow up with a comparison of how things were a year or two ago.  Now is not the time for that type of reflection.  Indeed, now is the time for some expansive future planning.  Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha” has been buying shares in some of

America

’s largest companies since last January.  Does he know something we don’t?  Not really, but now is also the time to think about reinvestment; maybe not in the stock market but certainly in your business.  As we roll into August many people across the country will be planning vacations and time away from the office.  On the East Coast, particularly, August has always been a time of slower sales, fewer client calls and less business being done.  Heck, even the people on Wall Street go to

Martha's Vineyard

for two weeks in August.  So, thing slow down.  Here on the West Coast we have the same type of energy going on.  Business, itself, slows down but there are more people in town than at any other time of the year.  The hospitality business is particularly busy in and around the Monterey Peninsula.  People flock to

California

this time of year to spend time both in the mountains and the shores.  There are even a few who love the desert this time of year.  Whatever.  This is a great time to plan for your marketing campaign for the autumn.  Be ready to start up fresh and excited come Labor Day.  Take the time over the next few weeks to reflect about your best attributes as a business and business person and incorporate those into your marketing plan.  I always find this part of the process fun and interesting.  I love to plan for what will come.  I’m tired of listening to people continually spout the words from each news cycle as if it were the gospel.  As we roll into autumn we should all be prepared to get busier.  How to prepare is part of your planning and preparation.  Now may be the time to start that direct marketing campaign.  You might consider attending a business seminar outside of your area.  You’ll meet other like-minded designers and hear ideas from all over the States you might not have heard just sitting at home.  Whatever you decide to do, invest as much as you can in time, energy and money to achieve the best possible outcome for your business.  Don’t throw money around willy-nilly but make sure some of it goes to promote your business.  All indications are there is a huge pent-up demand for our services.  We just have to let them know we are here and ready to go to work.  Now is the season for us to see new and exciting successes.  Get a positive attitude and work in a determined and forthright manner.  You can’t fail.

Lightin' Strikes

I was contacted this morning to participate in an interview for the International Interior Design Association’s (IIDA) Perspective magazine.  Sarah Robertson, the editor and writer, has asked me to speak to the current economic state and how to get ahead even in this economy.  For those of you who read this blog it will come as no news that I believe now is one of the best times to enter this profession.  There has been a massive number of dilatants and wanna-be’s leaving the ranks for greener fields and that leaves more room for true professionals who will not muddy the waters with shoddy business practices and lax morals when it comes to ethics.  So, I am looking forward to talking to the professionals at IIDA.  This is the third interview request since the book was released and I like talking to other writers about this profession.  It also helps me market my design services as well as bringing attention to the book.  Each interview helps position Hale-Williams Interior Design in the market as experts in the field.  It works for us for professionals who are seeking guidance in business practices and how to operate their business.  It also works for perspective clients who might be looking for a professional design team.  The perception being if we are recognized as experts in the field of interior design business management we are probably also very good at managing projects for clients in the field.  Both of which, of course, are true.  As our brand expands to include the current book and the book to be released in March of 2010 we will be seen as the go-to guys for business and design.  Now, we’ve just got to get that phone ringing.  And, just like the man in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” I want to be able to say, “Did I tell you I was struck by lighting seven times in my life”?  Each time we get a call from a perspective client it’s just like getting struck by lighting.  In this particular instance it’s actually a lot of fun.

More Than You Know

I had a discussion last week about what everyone was doing to stay afloat right now.  There are all sorts of little indications things are beginning to turn around but we’re not out of the woods, yet.  So, what can we do to stay afloat?  My interior designer friends around the country are trying direct mail pieces as a way to reach out to potential clients.  The feedback, so far, has been very positive and they are starting a second round of mailers.  We just sent out our first two thousand postcards beginning last Friday.  I’ll keep you abreast of what might transpire.  A designer we know in

North Carolina

, Tim Schelfe, of Schelfe and Associates, has been selected to compete with six other designers in “The Nations Next Top Model Home”.  Each has a chance to be able to select the room in the model they would like to create and we all have a chance to vote for them before the competition begins.  Go to this link, http://www.nationsnexttopmodelhome.com/  ,take a look at the designers and give Tim your vote.  Then, when the event kicks in follow what happens and who wins.  These shows are a lot of fun and a great marketing opportunity.  Other designers are creating their own event marketing events with seminars, speaking engagements, trunk shows and sale events that include other retailers.  Phil Norman, in California, actually hooked up, no pun intended, with a rug company and created sale days for the rugs with his design firm, Norman Design Group, working during the event to give advice on which rug would be best for any given home.  I should also mention the event was held in the Main Ballroom of the Trump National Golf Club, a luxury resort in Palos Verde.  These two marketing events also work very nicely from a branding point of view in that each is a recognized and impressive luxury brand on its own.  It creates a very nice tie in for your firm to be associated with names like Trump and nationally recognized brands in all parts of the country.  Think about it a while and you’ll agree.  Each of these marketing events have proven to be very effective in this fragmented economy and I know there are even more ideas out there to create attention for you and your firm.  Think about what type of marketing event would fit your style and temperament best and go for it.  People all over the country love to meet professional interior designers “up close and personal”.  So, put your thinking cap on and create the best possible event you can for you and your business.  The potential is immense and now is the time.  Go for it.    

Down in the Boondocks

We met with clients for whom we had managed a complete renovation of a home in Quail Lodge Country Club last week.  It is so nice, after the fact, to visit with clients and enjoy the space all of you created.  We had drinks and dinner and during the evening were introduced to their newest addition, a “cute as a button” 9 month old Beagle puppy.  We were also introduced to another interesting addition to their family.  A new 6,000 square foot residence to be built on property they own and have already started preparing for the new structure.  A lake is being created to be stocked with fish and a small pier will go out with a large area for picnics and sunset cocktails.  We are so happy they have chosen us again to help create a home for them.  For me the most interesting part of the evening was learning where the house is.  It’s in southern Arkansas.  Yes, Arkansas.  Now, I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and spent many summers in Arkansas at Boy Scout summer camps so I know a little about Arkansas.  The town in which the house is to be built has no airport and the closest is more than two hours away.  The great challenge about all this is being removed from an urban center to complete the work.  We will be responsible for finding competent and reputable workrooms to help create the interiors.  We are also going over the proposed plans to ensure every need of the client is met in this back of beyond location.  Why Arkansas?  One of the couple spent a lot of time there as a child with grand parents.  They like to fish, hunt and play golf and have spent a lot of time in the area already.  A number of years ago they built what they refer to as “the double wide” prefab house on the property.  So, they know the area and have decided to retire there.  The challenges we face as professionals in areas not accustomed to luxury residential design are daunting and researching the services in the area can be very time consuming.  Fortunately the clients understand the challenges and are happy for us to spend the time needed to find just the right drapery workroom and upholsterer; even if we have to go two or three hours out of town.  In this instance, also, we may decide to fabricate everything with our known and trusted workrooms and ship it to Arkansas.  Through our professional connections we also know of a very accomplished interior designer in Little Rock, which is only about two hours away.  We know she will have access to the right kind of workroom for us and our client.  So, between the connections we have with other professionals, the ability to ship across the country and the internet we’ll be able to create another interior for a wonderful couple who trust us to manage the project and bring it in on time and on budget.  There is also one very important factor about this project as well.  It’s the first large job we’ve been hired to do in over eighteen months.  I’m not about to say this is an indicator of any sort but it sure feels good to be working on a whole house, again.  We are also launching our latest direct marketing campaign at the end of the week.  Here’s hoping the phone really starts ringing.    

I'm Beginning to See the Light

I have continued to promote the very real returns networking within your community can bring but I have also been active since last September in the social networking world.  Yet, again, a segment of the internet that many designers simply are not putting to the very best possible use.  And I don’t mean lots of gossip about who did what and when.  No, I mean a campaign directed at exposing you and your firm to as many people as possible with precise information about what your firm is doing in the community.   Within the context of networking are the Web 2.0 social networking sites.  You know, LinkedIn, FaceBook, Allvoices, Twitter and more.  Each of these abounds with opportunity and each offers slightly different focuses.  There are tie-ins between most of the sites and, if you wanted, they could be your twenty-four news service.  Be aware, however, they can also use up a lot of your valuable time.  Each must be managed in a way that is beneficial to your business and not a drain on your billable hours.  As with all the other aspects of your business time management is critical to the successful implementation of these Web 2.0 sites.  Don’t get lost in the minutiae of who saw what, when and where they may be going.  As with word of mouth, your posts to the site should be about your success as a business person and professional not simple chit-chat.    

     I have found LinkedIn seems to be more directed toward business and business owners.  It allows you to tell the world about your business without a lot of personal information.  Yes, they do ask about your schooling, where you grew up and what type of organizations you belong to, but the focus still tends more toward business and business oriented sites.  This site also allows you to have your blog uploaded directly to your page and thereby shared by everyone with whom you are linked.  This gives the blog another outlet and that helps with the dissemination of your message.  LinkedIn, like most of the others, also allows you to link to your email whenever any one person, group or business posts to the site.

     Allvoices is all about what is happening right now in our country and the world.  It has major sub-topics that include Business, Politics, Science & Technology, Sports and much, much more.  As with all the other sites mentioned the “news” is all posted by individuals interested in whatever particular subject you pull up.  You are also invited to contribute.  Some of the business news is current and particularly topical for entrepreneurs and those interested in the business of business. 

     FaceBook may just be the granddaddy of them all.  With millions of members all over the world you can get connected to people you didn’t even know you knew.  Between videos, photos and links to other people and sites you could simply loose yourself in the pages of this monster social networking site.  Created by two guys in college for their small group of friends, FaceBook has expanded to include luminaries, actors, politicians and those who simply want to be noticed.  A very interesting recent development with this site is the enormous number of baby boomers and older participants who have decided to join.  This group may also be part of your optimum client base.  So, management of this site might become crucial to your overall marketing strategy.  If can’t and shouldn’t be the only way for you to distribute your message but it just might be one of the best.  It’s up to you to decide.   

     Properly managed each of these sites offers benefits for the dissemination of your message.  They are a great way to inform anyone listening just what is happening in your particular business world.  You will need to make sure the people you want to contact in this way know they have the opportunity to join all the sites.  Many will find it fun and interesting to be part of this continual feed of information.  Some may decide to drop the whole thing after a while but most will remain members and continue to get your feed when you post to whichever site you choose.